Posts Tagged ‘Iron Dome’

Hamas attacked southern Israel with three rockets shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday, ending the 72-hour cease-fire nearly three hours before its official end.

No one was injured.

Israel has not responded to the rocket fire, at least so far and may be waiting to see if Hamas is intent on launched round two of the war, or simply is letting Hamas play head games by not extending the cease-fire but and shooting three rockets just to prove it can do so.

The best scenario would be that Israel has spotted the rocket launching sites and will retaliate later this evening.

However, Hamas claims it did not fire the rockets, which makes the terrorist organization look even worse because if true, it proves, as it has often proven, that it does not control Gaza.

The Iron Dome anti-missile system shot down one rocket over Ashkelon, and two other rockets exploded in open areas in the area of Sderot, located approximately one mile – as the missile flies – from the Gaza border, and in the area south of Ashkelon.

The Palestinian Authority postponed a scheduled 9:30 p.m. press conference as truce talks in Cairo appear to have been nothing more than hot air that is about to blow up. President Obama spoke with Prime minister Netanyahu about the cease-fire during the afternoon, according to White House spokesman Ben Rhodes.

The IDF has called up reservists and extended the emergency “Tzav 8” orders so thousands of soldiers, some of whom were called up as long as a month ago.

After the original ceasefire began, the IDF pulled troops out of Gaza but redeployed thousands of troops along the Gaza border, from the north to the south, so that they can go into action immediately if need be.

However, hundreds of tanks and armored personnel carriers returned to their bases near Eilat and in the Golan. But enough remain near Gaza so that the IDF can retaliate.

This time, if Jerusalem does not give in to the demands of Hamas, Britain will cancel 12 export licenses for components for radar systems, combat aircraft and tanks, British media report.

British Business Secretary Vince Cable explained in a statement late Tuesday, “We welcome the current cease-fire in Gaza and hope that it will lead to a peaceful resolution.

“However, the UK government has not been able to clarify if the export licence criteria are being met. In light of that uncertainty, we have taken the decision to suspend these existing export licences in the event of a resumption of significant hostilities.”

Cable, a Liberal Democratic minister, did not say whether the announcement came as the result of discussions with Conservatives who were pushing for an arms embargo regardless.

According to a report in the British-based Daily Mail newspaper, a review of the licenses to be revoked showed they were not for items being used by IDF forces currently in Gaza in any case, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Bis) said.

But Israel is still apparently to be punished for the intractable behavior of Hamas.

“What is clear now is that we [the government coalition] have agreement that if the current cease-fire ends in Gaza, which we all hope it doesn’t, and there was a resumption of significant hostilities, then there would be an immediate suspension of those arms export licences to Israel that give cause for concern.”

What is not included in the embargo is the license granted for the export of cryptographic equipment, or for any components that form part of the Iron Dome system that protects Israeli civilians from the missile attacks fired by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

The military deals set to be affected are worth less than $17 million. Years ago, Israel realized that the UK is a fickle and unreliable arms supplier, so the IDF only buys minor parts from the UK that it can easily acquire elsewhere if needed.

What won’t be affected are Britain’s military purchases from Israel, including an Elbit drone system that the British army needs.

Meanwhile, it is not at all clear whether a cease-fire will be reached by the Wednesday deadline.

A source on the Palestinian Arab side told the A-Sharq al-Awsat Arabic-language daily newspaper there is still a wide gap on the issues of returning the remains of Israeli soldiers in exchange for a Gaza seaport and airport and creating a land bridge between the enclave and the regions of Judea and Samaria. “There is slow progress, but no big breakthrough,” the source told the paper.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Hamas announced in more blunt terms, “This is the last cease-fire.”

Has Israel of late neglected the IDF’s ground forces? Is it well prepared to wage its real battles ahead against well-entrenched Hamas and Hezbollah armies? Currently embroiled in an intensive ground battle with Hamas in Gaza, have IDF’s infantry and armor units complained of insufficient preparation?

Perhaps, things are not all fine. An ineluctable impression one gets from a recent study conducted by the Tel Aviv based Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies is that the IDF has decided to invest primarily in air force capabilities, intelligence, special operations forces, stand-off precision fire and cyber capabilities. It is at the expense of its more traditional units, mainly the large ground forces. The study stresses the need to diversify IDF precision-fire capabilities and not to concentrate it all in the hands of the air force. It says today’s technology allows for precision fire to be launched from the sea as well .

An expert of the BESA Center says that the backbone of the IDF traditionally has been a large land army, comprised of heavy armored brigades supported by artillery and infantry. Most of the ground forces were reserve units mobilized from their homes in the event of war. A strong air force ensured air superiority allowing the time for the reserves to deploy. It proved highly effective when Israel’s main strategic threat was large conventional Arab armies threatening to invade its territory.

The expert says the scene has changed a lot in the last two to three decades. The last time the IDF engaged in combat with a conventional army was on Lebanese soil against the Syrian army in 1982. Since then, the threat from conventional armies has diminished. Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties with Israel (in 1979 and 1994). Iraq’s army was essentially eliminated by US invasion in 2003. The Syrian army too has been devastated by the civil war in that country.

Today, instead of conventional armies, the IDF finds itself occupied with operations against terror and guerilla organizations such as Hamas in Gaza, Islamic Jihad in Sinai, and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The threat to Israel’s home front has also changed, from bombardment by hostile air forces to rocket and missile fire by terror organizations. The country that most supports and supplies these organizations is a non-Arab state actor that does not share a border with Israel – Iran. Iran also has a nuclear program that poses a threat to the entire Middle East. Under these circumstances Israel must be able to project power thousands of kilometers from home.He says there are new technological developments in the military. Drones and unmanned vehicles in the air, sea and land; networks of digital command and control; precision fire that can be launched from almost any platform; and cyber-warfare – all hold the potential to alter, and in some cases have already changed, the way armies fight.
Besides, the expert says, the IDF cannot overlook the domestic strategic environment. The large civil protest demonstrations in Israel of 2011 reflect a change in priorities of the Israeli public: “More butter, fewer guns.” The IDF has to be more effective and less costly.
“Ideally, like every military, the IDF would like to have it all: The new F-35 jet fighter and state-of-the-art Dolphin class submarines, the new Namer APC and a new model of the Merkava tank, and additional batteries of Iron Dome, Arrow and the new David’s Sling missile defense systems. However, due to budget pressures, the IDF must compromise and make hard choices, “ he says..

The Congress voted Friday morning to transfer an additional $225 million to Israel for the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system.

The move came less than 24 hours after Hamas terrorists kidnapped an Israeli soldier during a cease fire demanded by the United States and the United Nations.

President Barack Obama immediately signed the measure into law, and the funds were transferred overnight, according to a report posted by ABC News.

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee two weeks ago approved the transfer of $351 million, bringing the total appropriations for Israel to $621 million.

The funds transferred last night followed a unanimous vote of approval by the Senate just before the start of a long Congressional recess.

“This is a good example of us being able to put aside partisan considerations and work together to help our good friend, Israel,” Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told Politico.

“I will stand by Israel for a lot of personal reasons but certainly for political reasons,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). “And I have no hesitation in declaring to the world that’s how I feel.”

Senatora Tom Coburn (R-OK) tried but failed to convince his colleagues to pass an amendment to offset the costs of helping Israel by “reducing unnecessary contributions to the UN.”

United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay, meanwhile, earlier had slammed the United States for funding the entirely defensive Iron Dome anti-missile system.

“Americans not only equipped the Israelis with weapons used in the Gaza Strip but also helped Israel in the amount of almost a billion dollars to develop the Iron Dome system that protects the residents from rocket fire,” Pillay said. “Gaza residents were not given similar protection from Israeli bombing.”

Pillay has called for an international investigation of Israel’s counter terror operation in Gaza, claiming the IDF is guilty of war crimes. She has not, however, used the same criteria in addressing the actions of Hamas, who started this war, and freely uses civilians as human shields in combat and in placement of weaponry for use against Israel.